Monday, November 21, 2011

The American Alpine Institute just received the following note from the Washington State Department of Transportation:

OKANOGAN – The gates are closed until spring on the North Cascades
Highway. SR 20 was closed temporarily at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in
advance of heavy snow storms. When conditions and forecasts were
reassessed early Monday morning, Nov. 21, maintenance and avalanche
teams determined it wasn’t safe to attempt reopening the highway for
Thanksgiving.

8” of new snow accumulated by noon today and the
forecast calls for 4” more by this evening, 9” more overnight and as
many as 16” Tuesday. Coupled with warming temperatures, those
quickly-filling avalanche chutes won’t remain stable and it’s unsafe for either our crews or motorists to be under them.

Last year, the
highway closed temporarily on Nov. 29 and two days later after a storm dropped 2’ of new snow, it closed until spring on Dec. 1. The 37-mile
winter closure zone begins seven miles east of Diablo Dam at milepost
134 on the west side of Rainy Pass (elevation 4,855 feet) to nine miles
west of Mazama at milepost 171 below Washington Pass (elevation 5,477
feet).

Last spring, the highway reopened May 23, marking the
second latest in the highway’s 39-year history. SR 20 typically reopens
between the last week in March and the first week in May. The earliest
opening ever was March 10, 2005. In 1976, a drought year, it remained open all winter.

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